Even with two burned-out motors, U students competing Sunday in a national chemical car race managed to get their car across the finish line.
U students Jeff Davis and Derek Harris represented their nine-member team on Sunday when they competed at the Salt Palace Convention Center against 28 schools in the Chem-E-Car Competition, sponsored by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Students competing in the event were required to design a vehicle powered by a chemical reaction that would carry a specific amount of water and go a certain distance.
Davis’ and Harris’ shoebox-sized car experienced problems in trial runs before the event when the first motor burned out. The backup motor also experienced malfunctions.
“It was running perfect on Friday when we did the trial run,” said Davis, a senior in chemical engineering and captain of the U’s team. “We probably put too many chemicals in her on Friday — pushed her too hard,” he said.
In an attempt to salvage their chances in the race, Davis and Harris labored hard to repair their car, made of plastic connector toys, using parts from both malfunctioning motors — and it worked. In the second try, the U car raced across the finish line and kept going even after it was supposed to stop.
“We would’ve gotten it right by the third try, but I’m glad our car kept going to the finish line this time,” Davis said.
Despite their hard work, the U team finished close to last.
Race winners were judged on how close they came to stopping at the green finish line 67 feet away. The 28 university finalists, who came to the national competition after winning regional contests, were told an hour before the race how much water they were required to carry and how far the car had to go.
Unlike the remote-battery cars children play with, the chemical engineering students were forced to think outside the box and come up with a way to make their car run using alternative fuel and make it stop all on its own.
“A lot of these students are really in the forefront of what’s going on with alternative fuels,” said Ahman Hatami, a spokesman for AIChE.
The chemical car race was started in 1999 when Scott Folger from the University of Michigan wanted students to be creative with chemistry.
“For the past years we’ve been teaching the same courses from the same textbooks — the changes that will occur will be in critical thinking,” he said.
Most contestants’ cars were powered by fuel cell or battery. Students were forced to come up with unique designs and ways to slow the car down in time, Folger said.